


A Little Unsteady

by thegooseprincess



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-17 22:04:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20628269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegooseprincess/pseuds/thegooseprincess
Summary: Tony deals with the aftermath of the Snap. He is not alone.





	A Little Unsteady

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! I was just writing to write. There's not really much of a plot. I wish this is how it had ended. I may add more later.

"I am inevitable." 

It burned. _It burns, it burns, it burns, it burns._ Tony's breath hitched, but he held a straight face as he glared fire at the Mad Titan. He felt an eerie calm wash over him. His blood burned and his insides felt scorched, but everything felt _okay_. It's not like pain had ever been a stranger anyways. And then, with all the defiance he could muster, he forced his lungs to expand one more time. 

"And I-" 

_It burns, it burns, it burns, it burns. _

"-am Iron Man." 

The simple motion of his thumb sliding across his middle and pointer fingers had suddenly become a Herculean effort. The power surging through his veins intensified. He wanted to scream. 

_I am going to die. _

Death was not unexpected. Hell, it was almost welcome amidst this throbbing pain. He tried to focus on something happy. The thought of Morgan and Peter and Pepper, safe and happy, eased his mind a little before the next wave of pain shot through his body. The pain, the pain, the pain was suddenly... Lessening? 

As Thanos's army crumbled around him, Tony found he could breathe again. It wasn't until the Mad Titan himself dissolved to ash that Tony mustered up the strength to turn his head. 

A hand gripped his shoulder. No. Correction- _several_ hands gripped his shoulder, his neck, his waist. He could feel them pressed to his back. Pepper's hands rested against his cheek, his heart. Wide-eyed, he took them in. Pepper, Rhodey, Steve, Nat, Clint, Bruce, Thor, Peter, and countless others, all huddled, trembling slightly, together, _alive_. 

Peter's voice broke the quiet. 

"Sir, we did it. We won, Tony. You did it." 

Tony laughed, sagging against Pepper. "You can rest now," she whispered in his ear. 

**** 

Everything that came after was a blur. Tony remembered passing out and waking up in a hospital. He flitted in and out of consciousness for several days, vaguely aware of people coming and going, never sure what was real and what was some fever-induced apparition. Finally, on the fifth day, he opened his eyes and found that the world around him no longer spun or faded. 

"Hey, honey!" a soft voice sounded from somewhere to his left. A hand caressed his forehead. He turned to meet Pepper's smiling eyes. "Are you with us now?" 

Tony blinked a few times. _Us? _ With a little effort, he raised his head to survey the room. Sunlight filtered in from a dirty window, and potted plants and flower bouquets littered every available surface. Peter was fast asleep on a chair in the corner, and Morgan (also asleep) was curled up in his lap. He turned back to Pepper, smiling. The right half of his face felt numb, and he wasn't sure how much control he had over it. He tried to swallow, but his throat felt raw and burned. He managed to get out a rough, "I'm here, Pep." 

At the sound of his hoarse voice, Peter stirred, causing Morgan to wake up as well. 

"Daddy!" she squealed, slipping out of Peter's lap and running towards the bed. Pepper caught her before she reached her destination. 

"Hold on, hon! Remember what we talked about! We have to be gentle!" 

Tony grinned, though he couldn't quite work up the strength to sit up. Pepper brought her to the bedside so that she could kiss his cheek. "Hey, Morguna! I missed you 3000!" 

She giggled, not put off one bit by his distorted voice. "I missed you 3011!" 

Peter hung back shyly behind Pepper, watching the exchange. His eyes were rimmed red. 

"Hey, kid!" 

The corners of Peter's lips twitched upward a little. Tony frowned. 

"Now Pete," he said, pushing himself up on one elbow. He relished in the small triumph. "I did not wipe out an entire army of hostile alien life-forms for you to not talk to me! Get over here!" He tried raising the other arm to beckon the kid in for a hug, but... He closed his eyes. "It's gone, isn't it?" 

Pepper ran her fingers gently down the side of his face. "Yeah... But knowing you, you'll have a new one built within a week of being home." 

Tony chuckled, trying not to glance over at the stump where his right arm once was. Shakily, he fell back to the bed. "Yeah. I've got about thirteen different ideas for it right now," he quipped, trying to keep the conversation light. "When can we go home? I don't want Gerald to fret." He glanced over at Peter again and noticed how rapidly he was blinking as he stubbornly avoided looking at Tony. 

"Okay. I'm going to take Morgan to get some lunch," Pepper said. "If you're feeling up to it when I get back, we can start talking to the doctor about what's next." 

Tony made a face. "Can't we just go home?" 

"Be good," Pepper cast him a warning glance. Her expression softened. "I love you." And then she was gone, leaving him alone with Peter. He tilted his head quizzically at the boy. 

"Talk to me, Pete." 

Peter looked like he had swallowed something bitter. 

"Is it the arm? I can pull these covers up. I don't much like the look of it either." 

Peter shook his head, a few tears slipping down his face. 

"Kid," Tony pleaded. He wished he didn't feel so weak. "I've missed you, you know. I grieved you for five years- didn't think there was a chance in the world I'd ever see you again. It was a long time before- before I could even talk about you without, without..." Tony brought his hand to his face, taking deep, shuddering breaths. Suddenly, Peter was pulling him into a hug. 

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. I'm so sorry! If it wasn't for me-" 

"Woah, woah, woah, buddy! Easy there! This is _not_ your fault! Do you hear me? Not even a little bit!" He weakly ran his hand through Peter's hair, wishing he could wrap his other arm around him too. "I'm sorry I scared you." 

A knock on the door startled them both. May peeked her head in. Happy stood behind her, holding a bouquet of balloons. Rhodey's voice drifted in from further down the hall. "Can we come in yet?" 

"Yeah," Tony said, a wave of exhaustion sweeping over him. 

The next couple of hours were a whirlwind of activity and visitors. Pepper had returned not long after May and Happy, and at some point, Rhodey and Steve had stopped in. The other Avengers had held off, so as not to immediately overwhelm him. May had tearfully thanked Tony for bringing her nephew home before tearing a reluctant Peter away. Tony would have been loath to see him go if he weren't so tired. The doctor had come in after that. Tony barely heard what he said as he drifted off with Morgan snuggled against his side. 

**** 

The nightmares really sucked. 

This time he dreamed that it was Peter who Snapped. He woke up in a cold sweat. 

"Hon, you okay?" Pepper peeked in from the hallway. Upon seeing his face, she came up beside him. "Hey, it's okay! We're home. We've been home a week now, and Morgan is safe, and Peter is safe. Everything is okay," she soothed. 

He nodded, but couldn't shake the incessant fear that the nightmare had instilled. He swallowed and tried to put on a guise of okay-ness. "Sorry, I just had a dream that Gerald ran away because I forgot his breakfast. Did anyone feed him this morning?" 

Pepper smiled. "Peter and Morgan did. Are you going to be okay here with them today?" 

Tony gave her a quizzical look before he remembered. She and May were going into town today for groceries. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Can you bring back some ice cream?" 

"The kids are napping right now. If you're extra quiet, they might stay like that until we get back. I'll be back in a few hours with your prescription and some ice cream." She kissed his forehead and left. Tony wanted to call her back, ask her to stay to chase the shadows away. But instead, he attempted to shove aside the dread that had settled in his chest and pushed himself out of bed. His missing arm ached. 

The nightmare was still haunting him as he entered the hallway. The floorboards creaked slightly as he passed over them, and he stopped by Morgan's room to check on her. She was curled up in her bed, surrounded by stuffed animals. Tony stifled a laugh. He quietly pulled the door almost to and continued on his way to the living room. Peter was asleep on the couch. He saw the kid breathing- he knew he was okay. But the dread lingered, and he couldn't shake the feeling that Peter could dissolve at any moment. 

Tony's heart was pounding in his ears as he settled on the couch beside Peter's sleeping form. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. "Hey, bud," he tried to say, but the words stuck in his throat and it came out as more of a heart-broken sob. Hesitantly, he ran his left hand through Peter's curly mop, relishing in his solidity, his here-ness. His breath hitched as he struggled to regain his composure. _He's here. He's alive. He's okay. _

One of Peter's eyes cracked open. "M'st'r Stark?" he mumbled drowsily. He sat up, blinking owlishly before turning his gaze on Tony. A look of concern crossed his features when he saw the expression on his mentor's face. "Oh, Mr. Stark! Hey! It's okay!" 

Tony was suddenly being enveloped in a strong, wiry-armed hug. Peter rocked him back and forth like a child as he cried. 

"It's okay, Tony. I've got you. I've got you." 

"I got you first," Tony hiccoughed. Peter snorted. 

After a few more moments, Tony settled down. He would have felt embarrassed if he had not already broken down like this- several times in the last twenty-four hours alone- in front of Pepper. He was far past embarrassment, he thought wryly, rubbing the tears from his face. He reached over Peter to the box of tissues that sat on the end table, but ended up knocking it to the ground as he tried to tug a tissue out with the one hand. 

Peter leapt up, pushing Tony back onto the couch. "Let me!" 

He scooped up the box and handed Tony a couple of tissues. 

"Sorry, kid. I'm still trying to get used to this, so I'm going to be a bit clumsy for a while. I've been dropping things all day. You should see what I did to Pepper's dinner plates last night! I'm a walking disaster and shouldn't-" 

"Tony." 

Peter was fixing him with a Look. He must've been spending too much time hanging around Pepper- it was almost scary. A small smile played across Tony's lips and he took a deep breath. He could feel exhaustion stealing over his body again, seeping into his veins. He leaned back against the couch cushions, fighting to keep his eyes open. 

"I could use some help on building my new arm. You interested?" 

He could practically feel Peter beaming beside him. "I'm way ahead of you on that, Mr. Stark! I've been working on some plans for the past couple days. It was going to be a surprise, but yes, I would love to work on it with you!" 

Tony nodded. He was just starting to drift off, when a small voice startled him awake again. 

"I wanna help too!" 

He cracked open an eye to see Morgan standing in front of him, staring him down earnestly. He must have woken her when he checked on her. Tony wrapped his arm around his daughter and pulled her up onto the couch on his other side. 

"Well _duh_!" he said with a laugh. "In fact, I might even put you in charge of painting it! How does _that_ sound?" 

Morgan giggled, snuggling against his side. "I want to paint it red!" 

"Red? That's my favorite color! Can you add gold glitter to it too?" 

"Mhmm!" 

"I'm sold! You, my dear, have the job!" He was mildly surprised as Peter laid back down, resting his head gently against Tony's armless shoulder. 

"Mr. Stark- um... Your dad is going to have a very pretty new arm! Probably the prettiest arm there ever was!" 

"Well _duh_!" said Morgan from his other side. 

With a kid on either side, surrounded by the familiar comforts of home, and sleep threatening to engulf him, the nightmare faded from Tony's mind. 

**** 

A knock at the door startled him. Tony opened his eyes, feeling very disoriented as he extracted himself from Morgan and Peter as quietly as he could. However, his efforts were to no avail, as both woke as soon as he moved. Another knock sounded. Peter hopped to his feet with all the grace of a jumping spider and more energy than Tony could ever hope to have, yelling loudly, "I got it!" Morgan laughed, following him to the front door as Tony stumbled unsteadily to his feet. He winced at the sound of the door being thrown open with more force than necessary. "Oh, hi everyone!" Peter exclaimed. 

Tony finally found his balance enough to walk. He rounded the corner. Steve, Nat, Clint, Bruce, and Thor stood on the doorstep, and seemed to be deeply enthralled with whatever Morgan was babbling about. Tony made a motion to scoop her up in his arm, but then thought better of it and leaned against the door frame for support instead. 

"Oh, hi everyone," he said almost shyly, a smile twitching at the corners of his lips. 

"Tony!" Steve said warmly. 

"How are you feeling?" Bruce smiled. 

Tony grinned. "Somewhere between Luke Skywalker and a burnt piece of toast. Want to come in?" 

As they filed in, a small commotion came from the garage entrance. There was the rustle of paper bags and the sound of laughter as Pepper and May entered the house. Pepper took one look at the rag-tag group and stopped in her tracks. "I should've gotten more ice cream."


End file.
